Rick Martel

[Jimmy Redman]

Martel is just a guy of whom I've seen a couple pimped matches, and liked them well enough, but at no point did he make me think "Wow I need to dive into this guy immediately." And the reality is that when it comes to unfamiliar guys and this project, I needed that kind of immediate impression to compel me to keep watching them.

[Matt D]

He's right around 30 for me. The heel run hurts him though. We've had this talk.

[Ricky Jackson]

I've got Rick at 11. Top that!

[Shrike02]

In 2021 I have Martel at 11 on my current iteration of my top 100 list. I can't see him dropping out of the top 20 in five years. If anyone is aware of any notable Martel footage has come along in the past five years, please include it in the Links folder. 

[El Dragon]

I can’t say anything on new footage, but I can say Martel was my personal favorite of the AWA set on watching. Incredibly good babyface performer who I’ve thought every performance he gave no matter the opponent ranged from really good to great. The 80 stuff in Portland did nothing to convince me otherwise either, Rose/Martel is a classic rivalry, and I wish we got more extended matches of them against each other.

 

I need to layout my rankings a bit more, but overall it’s been a blast every time he’s popped up on footage, to the point he just might sneak into my top 10 range. 

 

 

[Matt D]

I’m not aware of any new Martel footage but I can’t see possibly ranking him in the top ten when the heel run, which is what he’s best known for, doesn’t generate anything good. That’s years of his career, plenty of matches on tape. It has to hurt him. You can’t just avoid it. 

[Reel]

17 minutes ago, Matt D said:

I’m not aware of any new Martel footage but I can’t see possibly ranking him in the top ten when the heel run, which is what he’s best known for, doesn’t generate anything good. That’s years of his career, plenty of matches on tape. It has to hurt him. You can’t just avoid it. 

I like the Sano match from SWS, not that one above-average match, almost entirely divorced from the heel gimmick, makes up for the rest of it being lackluster. 

[Ricky Jackson]

I love the blindfold match, the whole Jake feud actually (building to just ONE singles match), Arrogance, "Yes, I am a Model", everything. The Model was such a fun heel gimmick. It was actually a great reinvention for someone who was pretty much a career babyface, totally sacrificing his entire arsenal to be a smug asshole with crappy offense. I'm of the opinion the Model run adds to his case. I know Matt and I will never agree on something like this, but if every list was the same it wouldnt be much fun 

[Matt D]

I like the blindfold matches and could see that logic adding to a #30 case if you really squint (and that’s around where he was for me) but not a top ten one. 

I do really like his heel performance vs Lawler though!

[khawk20]

1 hour ago, Matt D said:

I’m not aware of any new Martel footage

There have been a few Martel handhelds come available in the last few years as I recall.

 

Not so sure there's been much more AWA material, with the exception of some complete matches from the AWA Christmas shows the network dropped a couple years back. Martel vs. Bobby Heenan from 1982, vs. Superstar Graham from 1983, and a title defense against Jim Garvin from 1984. Also I think the 4/19/85 meadowlands match vs. King Tonga is complete from the network (can't recall if it was complete before), as is his title loss to Hansen on 12/29/85. I swore there was a fuller Schultz vs. Martel match available too but I may have dreamt that.

[ohtani's jacket]

Can someone recommend a half dozen or so Martel matches?

[Childs]

vs. Buddy Rose, Portland 4/26/80

w. Piper vs. Rose and Wiskowski, Portland 8/2/80

w. Santana vs. High Flyers, AWA 8/29/82

vs. Jumbo, AJPW 7/31/84

vs. Bockwinkel, AWA 9/20/84

vs. Saito, AWA 4/24/85

[ohtani's jacket]

Cheers.

[NintendoLogic]

I think the best Jumbo/Martel match was on 9/29/85 in the AWA.

[khawk20]

2 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

I think the best Jumbo/Martel match was on 9/29/85 in the AWA.

Seconded.

 

[Childs]

Agreed, I just figure if you're only going to watch six, might want to see him work a singles match in Japan. 

[Matt D]

The Martel/Zenk vs Funks match and Martel vs Lawler would be two I'd consider key too because they show different aspects of his game.

[KB8]

What's the date on Martel/Zenk v Funks? I don't think I've seen that.

[NintendoLogic]

11/22/86.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=484727678931421

[Clayton Jones]

That's new to me I believe as well, stoked to watch that.

If you wanted to make it a 7 pack instead I think the Flair/Martel match from All Japan is excellent. Although you lose the aspect of Martel wrestling the local hero. Regardless those are all great recommendations.

I love Martel and he'll likely be top half for me but I'll definitely be digging into the Model years to decide where. Also more Strike Force on the positive side, I watched a series of matches they had with the Islanders not too long ago that I loved every second of.

[KB8]

Thanks, NL.

Agreed on those Strike Force/Islanders matches. I watched a bunch of them just before the 2016 vote and they pushed Martel into my top 40 (and pushed Tama onto my list). Since then I've watched a couple more, one of them being my favourite of the lot, so I'd expect him to do at least as well as he did last time. 

[DylanZero]

Martel would have been a top 10 guy with a better heel run, one of the most naturally talented and hardest working babyfaces of his era and I would put him over his contemporaries in Santana and Steamboat. I had him in my top 25 last time and I see no reason why he should drop much if at all this go round.

[elliott]

I ranked Rick Martel 51st in 2016 and I don't really know what I feel about that. I think I got a little carried away, but I also think he probably belongs on a top 100 list. Don't get me wrong, he's an amazing pro-wrestler, but Id be surprised if he got that high on my list against. Martel was an awesome babyface wrestler. Incredible seller. But the sort of matches and role he excels at: babyface 80s technical title match, just doesn't appeal to me as much and that's going to limit how high he can get for me without something extra to push him over the top. A better heel run at some point or some violent brawls would really help his candidacy for me. I see him in that 80-140 range where I could vote for him or not. That said, I absolutely see the appeal and understand if people would want to rank him really high. He was excellent at what he did. Just other people did stuff I value more. 

[KB8]

Martel was my number 38 in 2016, which I'm happy enough with but may have been a little too high. I don't know, I've said it a bunch of times running through my list up to this point but looking over it now, there are going to be candidates that I haven't really watched anything of in five years and so that'll factor into my 2021 thinking at least a little. Martel is one of those candidates, though I don't exactly need to re-watch a Rick Martel career retrospective to remind myself why I had him where I had him. An all-time level babyface and that's obviously where his bread is buttered. The Portland run, the AWA run, the WWF runs, he was great through all of them. Matt D has made the point about his heel run as a knock, and while I don't think I'd ding him massively for it, it is the sort of thing that keeps him from going any higher. Still, the Bockwinkel series is about as good as any match-up of the 80s and I'm ridiculously high on the 9/20/84 match, which is like top 20 of the decade for me. I don't think any of his random 90s WCW stint produced anything amazing, but it was pretty cool that he showed up there and got to have a bit of a showcase run, just to prove that he could still do it. 

 

RICK MARTEL YOU SHOULD WATCH:

v Buddy Rose (Portland, 4/26/80)

v Nick Bockwinkel (AWA, 9/20/84)

v Jumbo Tsuruta (AWA, 9/29/85)

v Terry Funk (Puerto Rico, 9/20/86)

w/Tito Santana v The Islanders (WWF, 9/21/87)

[elliott]

I don't think the 9/20/84 is a crazy pick for a top 20 of the decade. Its a fucking awesome match. Unbelievable selling performance from Martel. If I had to use one match to sell someone on Martel, that's the match.